Carrier for bottles



y 1944. R. LOWEY ETAL 2,354,528

CARRIER FOR BOTTLES Filed Dec. 1, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l July 25, 1944. R. E. LOWEY ET AL CARRIER FOR BOTTLES Filed Dec. 1, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 fizz/eniansv fay E Lou/63y,

Earl ci ozf'fer" and,

Cfiarles Kdlrnez" my a forming panels, II, N, bottom panels I! and it, ends partition panel II. A score line II is formed between the two handle panels 50 that the handle panels may be folded to lie one upon the other and thus provide a handle portion of double portion II and the tab 22 is hinged along a score line 25 to the handle portion l2, there being preferably an additional score line 26 formed in the tab 22 and spaced somewhat away from the score line 24 for the purpose of enabling the tab to be folded around several thicknesses of material. It should be noted particularly that the arcuate cuts or slits defining the ends of the handle tab 22 extend at least to points of tangency with the ends of score line 24, the better to permit the folding of the handle tab to its ultimate position. This last mentioned feature is well illustrated in Figs. and 6 but also by the larger scale view of Fig. 3a.

As best shown in Fig. 1, the tab 22 is adapted to be folded upwardly to lie between the two,

handle panels II and I2 so as to provide for an increased thickness of material at the upper portion of the handle. The width of the tab 22 preferably is such that its free edge will snugly engage in the fold at the top of the carrier between handle portions II and |2.- The ends 22a, 22a of the tab 22 are preferably formed so as to converge outwardly away from the line of hinge of the tab with the handle portion so that when the tab is folded upwardly inside of the handle the weight imposed upon the handle, when held in the hand, will be distributed over somewhat more of the handle than would be the case if the tab was formed with straight or perpendicular end edges. After the tab 22 has been folded upwardly, as indicated in Fig. 1 and the two handle panels brought down together, the tab 23 may then be folded through the opening 2| and can be folded around the upper edge of the opening 2| to conform with the triple thickness provided by the tab 22 and handle portions II and I2. The extra score line 2 enables the tab 22 to be eifectively folded around in the manner Just described. so that a broad bearing surface is presented to the hand for carrying the loaded carrier. By reference to Fig. 3a it will be observed that the length of the handle tab 22 is .less than the corresponding dimension of the opening 2. provided by the displacement of the tab 22. This arrangement prevents the tab 23 from engaging and stressing the handle at the upper corners defining the opening 2| thereby reducing the chances of tearing the material at such corners.

Each of handle portions II and I2 is scored.

along lines 28, 22 and 22 for the purpose of pro viding corresponding panels 3|, 8: and 22. the

handle to be depressed or partly telescoped to a position where it will not extend above the plane of the tops of bottles disposed in the carrier. This is best seen by comparison of Figs. 1 and 4. Viewing 1'18. 4 it will be observed that the bottom tops of the bottles in the lower carrier for support thereon.

After the two handle panels II and I2 have been brought together with tab 22 therebetween as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 6, staples l4, 34 may be driven through the end panels above the score or fold line 28 and staples 35, 25 may be inserted below the score or fold line 20 and in directions substantially parallel to other fold or score lines later described. This arrangement of inserting staples will leave the subpanels 2| and 22 free to swing about their common hinge line formed by the score lines 29, 29. Thus, by pressing the upper art of the handle so that the fold lines 29, 29 will move outwardly, the central portion of the handle may be moved down until the fold lines 28 will assume positions horizontally below the fold lines 28, 29. The width of the sub-panels 2| preferably is such that when bottles are held in the carrier it is possible for the hinge line 2| to move down so that the panels 2|, 2| pass the horizontal, that is. are tilted downwardly as shown in Fig. 4, but the combined width of the panels 2|, 3| is not so great that movement of the hinge 28, as just described, will be prevented. Such movement will, however, be resisted by the necks of the bottles and by the grip thatthe bottle carrying compartment of the carrier exerts upon the bottles to keep them in a. vertical position. The widths of the sub-panels 3|, 2| are made sufficient to offer an appreciable resistance when brin in these anels to a horizontal position, so that when the panels are moved downwardly beyond a horizontal position. thenecks of the bottles will tend to force the panels to swing still further downwardly, and, in the same manner, will resist upward or return movement of the sub-panels II to a horizontal position. There is thus provided a construction which may be termed a toggle lock which will insure the retention of the upper part of the handle in downwardly collapsed position when it has been forcefully brought to such position past the dead center of the toggle which is the position of parts when the sub-panels are both lying in a horizontal plane.

Each of the top panels It, in the present instance. is formed with three bottle-receiving openings, the two outer openings being designated at 2|, 38 and the inner or intermediate opening being designated at 20. The opening 22 is preferably shaped snugly to fit the bottles to 'be received therein. Each top panel at each side of the opening II is cut away from the panel 23 through the removal of pieces "a and lb (the full lines between and extending from pieces a and llbindicating slits or cuts through the material) so as to provide down-folding flap elements 42, ll. To facilitate downward folding of these flap elements the top panel preferably is scored along lines 4|, 4|.

Preferably each of the flap elements 0. 42 is secured to the front panel II by what may be termed a bellows type connection so as to provide increased strength of construction and also to provide an arrangement for retaining the flap elements in downwardly disposed position in whichposition they cause retention of the car- 76. -rier in set-up condition and also serve as dividing partitions and cushioning means between the inner and outer or adjacent bottles in each row. For this purpose there are also provided sections or parts 42, 42 in the front panel defined therefrom by fold lines 42, 42 and defined from the of another load carrier mflybelellted upon the 76 part 4| by fold lines 44, 4|. slits 45, ll are formed in the front panel to separate the lower endsof the sectional? from thefront- 111st escribed when it is'des led set up the carri t flap By utilizing the construction;

elements l0, 40 will be pushed .downwardlywhile'f the top panels are brought to' a position at an angle t0.the handle; element. .In practice, the] pressure is applied along the fold lines, so as to cause the sections 42, 42-150 fold inwardly and downwardly simultaneously with the downward foldingofthe flap elements 40. n i

The side marginal portions. which remain after removal of the pieces wa and 40b and separation from flaps by. the slits'or cuts con:

necting] the openings formed by. removal of'f'the said pieces are designed to embrace and give lateral support to theend or. outside bottles disposed in the carrier and, this enaeacn may be scoredalong score or fold lines 41 disposed.

at varying angles to one another. The. exact angles i at which the score lines, '41 are disposed to onej'anotheriorto the long 'edge'spf the portions 40 andfthe number ,oritne intermediate score lines'offeach group'thereofinfe'ach side marginal portion .46, "are matters not relatively important so long as the sidema'r'g'inal portions maybe soifolded as to dispose parts of them more or less'flatlagainst'the sides of the bottles disposed inopenlngs or compartments 38, as best pictured'inl igs". 1 emu; However, in the embodiment illustrated the score lines 41 with one exception are shown as extending at angles of 45 and to one another and to the long edges of portions 46; the one exception is that of an intermediate score line which is shown as making angles of approximately and 60 with the edges of the portion 46, and which score lines may be omitted.

It will be noted that that score line 41 which is closest to a staple or fastener 35, is disposed at approximately 45 to the edge of portion 46 and that the staple 35 is so disposed as to extend substantially parallel and fairly close to that fold or score line, thereby aiding the marginal portions to bend to their proper bottle embracing positions. The arrangement of the marginal portions 46 as well as the arrangement of the down-turned flaps 40, with their holding sections 32, serves to give considerable structural strength 'against crushing, bending and other stressing forces and, together with the balance of the structure, provide a carrier of unusual quality.

One of the more important features of the invention lies in the arrangement whereby the carrier length is reduced to a point where it is substantially equal to the sum of the diameters of the bottles carried in a compartment, thereby minimizing the amount of material required to make the carrier, making a more compact package, and economizing on space required to pack or stack a plurality of loaded carriers. This feature is attained to a large extent through the arrangement of the top openings in the compartment and the construction about and defining such openings, and downturned flaps 40 together with segments 42 and the end pieces 46 and their formation providing the necessary structural strength as well as serving as retaining means and to cushion the bottles. The actual length of the bottle compartment may be defined, therefore, as substantially equal to the sum of the diameters of the bottles to be received in the compartment plus the product of the number of bottles or bottle openings in the compartment multiplied by the top wall material willbe jnot i'substantially greater l than .2%! X? The two bottle carryingcompartments, one on each side of the partitionpanel ,ll, areheldin position and to one another by glueing. .orotherwisesecuring a transverse marginal strip 4', {er regated from bottom panel It by scoreor fold line 4!, to thejadjacent face of partition-panel] I, so that the score line 48 lies. parallel and adjacent, ,to a scoreorf fold line lliseg'regating orYdifferentiating. panels II and ii.

When the ca ner, as thus constructedjismanu -r metered, it ordinarily be, prepared,.. jand shipped as user, i in .fknocked down eoadi-f tiongthat is,,flat, and when it isready for use "it willbe, ,set-up. lInJffknocked-downl' co'ndition thetop and'frontwallsof each bottle. coinpartmentwill lie-in substantially the same plane and, A respectively, against .the back andfbottom. walls which, in turn, lie in none plane. this arrangement being permitted by thedim'ensions' of the walls and the score lines between panels an anaiip n s u. and 16- an n" t knocked-down" state" the carrier will have'its" handle tab 23 in the plane of panel ll. Accordingly, the carriers may be packed so as to utilize space in a most economical manner.

When the carrier is to be set-up" for use it is a relatively quick and simple process. The bottle carrying compartment walls are moved into their proper positions in which they are shown in Fig. 1 and the flaps 40 and sections 42 are turned downwardly at right angles to the top walls in which positions they lock and are held, in turn holding the compartments in rectangular shape. The

central parts of the side marginal portions 4' of the top walls may then be turned at right angles to the planes of the top walls and tend to hold such positions. So set up the carriers may be disposed beneath a bottle carrier loading machine for the automatic loading of bottles into all of the compartments, simultaneously if desired.

The foregoing description of what is at present considered a preferred embodiment of the inven tion is believed to be ample to enable anyone skilled in the art to reproduce and use the same as well as to appreciate the functions and purposes of the various parts. It will also be apparent that various changes and variations in the construction and arrangement of the carrier and its several parts maybe effected and that adaptations of features of the invention to other constructions and for other purposes may be accomplished, all without departure from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A bottle carrier comprising, a handle portion and bottle receiving compartment, said bottle receiving compartment comprising two top panels extending outwardly from the handle portion, a side forming panel extending downwardly from the outer edge of each top panel, a bottom forming panel, and a back panel extending upwardly in line with and joined to the handle portion, each top panel being formed with three apertures for the reception of bottles, one of the end apertures being formed by cutting away a portion of the material of said top panel to leave an end web of less width than a bottle diameter connecting the back panel with the side wall, said web being connected to the handle panel along a diagonal fold line extending upwardly and inwardly of the handle whereby the adjacent portion oi the web may assume an angle to the plane of the top panel, said web having another diagonal fold line extending divergently from substantlally the loyver end of the first fold line toward said side panel, said web being connected to the side panel along a diagonal iold line extending outwardly and downwardly thereof, and said web being formed with an additional fold line diverging from the inner upper end of the third mentioned fold line. the mid-portion of the web between the second and fourth said i'old lines being thereby disposable in a generally vertical position relative to the plane of the bottom panel, the said mid-portion oi the web being resiliently held in such substantially vertical position, the end portion 01' the web tending to flex the adjacent portions oi the side panel when the central portion of the strip is forced outward, whereby a bottle held in the opening between the web and the other edge of the opening will be gripped therein.

2. In a carrier of the character described formed from sheet material to provide a compartment adapted to receive two rows of bottles in upright position with their neck portions extending thereabove, said compartment including top, bottom and side panels and a partition panel extending substantially vertically between said rows of bottles and secured to said bottom and top panels, and a handle portion extending upwardly and substantially in the plane of said partition panel from the upper edge thereof and having its top edge normally substantially above the level of the tops of bottles disposed within said compartment, the improvement wherein said handle portion comprises two panels of said material in iace-to-face relation, each of said handle portion panels being provided with at least three substantially horizontal spaced score lines at corresponding levels and said handle portion panels being secured in iace-to-face relation above the uppermost and below the lowermost of said score lines, whereby the parts of said handle portion panels between said score lines may be deflected from face-to-face relation and the top of said handle portion may be depressed below the level of the tops of said bottles to allow a plurality of similar carriers filled with bottles to be stacked.

ROY E. LOWEY.

EARL C. PO'I'I'ER.

CHARLES B. KILMER. 

